Mum's the Word
by randomklainer
Summary: Jake and Ryder discover how difficult it is to have a relationship when no one knows about it. But will it get easier when Jake's mom finds out? Yes, yes it will.


**So in You're My Kryptonite, I got a review where it was suggested that Jake and Ryder could have come out to their parents at separate times. The idea never occurred to me, but it got me thinking, what would it be like if they were only out to Jake's mom? Somehow, this story is what occurred as a result of that question.**

**I've written this in third person omniscient (when you can see inside everyone's heads). This is pretty much my first time ever trying that, so I would really appreciate some feedback/constructive criticism about it. And about the story, because I'm curious to know whether it worked for you.**

Jake has just stopped at his locker when Ryder tears down the hallway towards him.

'Jake, Jake!' He's panting when he comes to a stop, excited to tell Jake his good news. 'I got a B+ on that English essay.'

'Well done. That's awesome.' He tries not to sound too excited. He needs to sound like a friend who's been helping with Ryder's learning disability. Not a boyfriend who has a huge amount of emotional investment in the situation. He can't say the things that he's desperate to:

_I'm so proud of you, baby._

_You're adorable when you bounce around like that._

_I love you._

He can't hug Ryder, no matter how much he wants to. And he definitely can't kiss him; it seems he can never kiss him. Instead, he holds out a hand for a fist bump, making sure to _boom_ at the end.

Ryder can see the emotions just flittering over Jake's face, can see the way that he wants to react. Even though he doesn't say anything more, Ryder can tell how proud Jake is, how pleased he is for him. He imagines the things Jake would say if he could, if they weren't surrounded by a bunch of homophobes.

They're standing there awkwardly now – always awkward – not knowing what to say. So much of what Ryder wants to say has to go unsaid, like usual.

'I should go,' Ryder says eventually. He doesn't want to leave though; he wants to lean against the bank of lockers and flirt while Jake gets his books for his next class. Instead, he just walks away.

Jake watches sadly as his boyfriend leaves, wishing he could run after him.

Xxx

After school, they meet outside Ryder's car, climbing in silently once the doors are unlocked. Once inside, Jake wants to lean across, to hold Ryder close to him and never let go. But people can see straight into the car, so he can't.

They can, however, talk now.

'I missed you,' he says. Ryder doesn't have to ask what he means, he knows what it's like to feel so distant all day too. And Jake knows that he knows.

'I want to hug you so bad,' Ryder says instead. 'Like, seriously, when I told you about my grade, I was so, so close to just jumping into your arms.'

Jake reaches out a hand, resting it high on Ryder's thigh. The muscles shift under his hand as Ryder begins to back the car out. Ryder nearly doesn't see the car that's reversing opposite them, too distracted by the hot touch on his leg. The first contact always seems to feel too warm.

'Any chance your mom will be out?' Jake asks.

Ryder shakes his head. 'Definitely not. You and your mom aren't gonna stop fighting soon?' They're on the straight streets of suburbia now, so Ryder drops his right hand from the steering wheel, tangling it with the fingers on his leg. He hopes it will help Jake realise that he understands the situation.

Jake smiles over at him, knowing Ryder's being hopeful, and not expectant. 'Unless she's suddenly pulled her head out of her ass, no. I don't get why she's against me pursuing a career in dance, why she doesn't get that I actually want to achieve something with my life.'

'I know, babe, I know.' Ryder pats at Jake's hand, wishing that was enough to convey all his emotions. 'I know you can do it though. You're seriously amazing, and I promise I'll be there to support you the whole way.'

'I know.' Jake tells him. He feels bad; this is one of their only chances to talk freely, and he's wasting it by bringing up something they've talked about before. 'I wish your mom didn't work from home. I wish we could spend all afternoon making out on your couch.'

Ryder feels his heart quicken at the thought, mind getting distracted as he imagines it momentarily. 'It's moments like these I wish we could come out. Y'know, if my parents weren't homophobic jerks.'

'I know, but it's not worth it though. Not at school, either.' Jake finds his mind travelling back to his old town, the hardships he'd had to go through when everyone found out that he's bi.

Ryder can see that Jake is lost in thoughts of his past. 'Do you think you'll tell your mom about us when you're talking again?' He knows that she knows about Jake's sexuality, that she supported him through all the hard times. But they haven't really been speaking for the past two weeks, and before that the relationship felt too new to talk about. That's what Jake said at the time anyway.

'I don't know.' Jake's been giving this some thought for the past week or so. 'I just – I really don't feel like trusting her with this at the moment, y'know?'

Ryder doesn't really know, so he just squeezes Jake's hand again. He doesn't understand how simple handholding can suddenly become so much after being denied any physical contact. 'Ready for an afternoon with my overbearing mother?' he asks, as they pull into the driveway.

As the car comes to a stop, Jake has to fight back the urge to kiss Ryder. He feels like he always has to fight back urges. He'd wanted to for the whole car ride as well, but the fact that Ryder was driving would be enough to stop that anyway. Now though, he could kiss Ryder, if they weren't having to hide their relationship, if it wasn't possible for anyone and everyone to see them right now. Instead, he pops the door open, turning to Ryder as he squeezes his thigh one final time. 'I'll miss you.'

Ryder doesn't have to ask what he means, because he already misses Jake – boyfriend Jake, that is. Spending an afternoon with best friend Jake isn't anywhere near as appealing.

Xxx

Mrs Lynn hears the front door open, and glances quickly at the clock before calling out. 'Hello Ryder. I was starting to wonder where you were.' She hears footsteps coming closer, possibly – probably – two sets.

Ryder tries to hide his annoyance when he answers. 'This is the usual time I get home, Mom.' He enters the living area then, Jake right behind him, and spots his mom at the dining table, her work spread everywhere.

'Jake,' she greets, not overly thrilled to see him. Not surprised either though. 'Here again?'

'I'm avoiding home,' he explains. It's true too, but it's the more minor of the two reasons. He would almost prefer his own mother over Mrs Lynn, but he's definitely willing to put up with her for Ryder's sake. He just hopes they'll be able to make their escape today.

'You gonna get started on your homework then?' Mrs Lynn asks. Of course she notices the way they always roll their eyes at the question, but she knows it's necessary. If they want to keep their grades up, they have to be disciplined. Especially Ryder.

'Yea, we're just gonna get some food then go to my room.' Ryder says it casually, in the hope she'll agree without realising.

'No you won't.' She doesn't understand why they always have this conversation. 'There's plenty of space here, I'll clear some room.'

Ryder collapses into the chair opposite her, annoyed that it didn't work once again. Why does he have to have such a small room? Why does his mom insist that they have to write at an actual table? Why does it have to be so, so difficult for them to avoid his mother in the tiny house? Next to him, Jake is wondering the same things. He seems to find himself wondering these things most days.

Neither of them have much homework, but they drag it out as much as they can. They're noisy about, constantly asking each other questions, discussing what they're learning. At one stage, Jake reads a passage aloud for Ryder. Mrs Lynn is getting annoyed by it; they're making it hard for her to concentrate. She considers telling them to study in Ryder's room, but there's no room in there, the space barely larger than his double bed. But this project she's working on is really important, and due at the end of the week. She really needs to be able to concentrate.

Ryder notices his mother sigh for a third time. 'We could give you some space, if we're making too much noise,' he suggests in his best effort at nonchalance.

'Fine, go,' she agrees.

They get up quickly, gathering their things and hurrying out of the room. When they make it to the hallway, they high-five quietly. Once the door is shut behind them, they hug, quickly following it with a kiss. It's the first kiss they've shared in three days, if you don't count the peck just inside Ryder's front door yesterday, which Jake doesn't. He takes a moment to reacquaint himself with Ryder, not too concerned about the proximity of his mom right now. Ryder isn't particularly concerned either; his back is against the door, so they'd have plenty of time to break apart before she could enter.

'Your room's dark,' Jake says when they break away from the kiss. Ryder reaches out a hand for the light switch, but he has trouble finding it; Jake is kissing behind his ear and it kinda makes it hard to concentrate. Jake can't get over the tiny little noises that Ryder makes. However, when he nips lightly at the skin, Ryder suddenly lets out a loud moan. They pull away from each other quickly, staring in shock.

'Move, move,' Ryder tells Jake, shoving at him. As Jake sits at the head of the bed, he moves to the foot, laying out his homework before him. 'If she comes, we'll tell her I stubbed my toe,' he explains.

Sure enough, it isn't long until Ryder's mom arrives, opening the door without knocking. 'Who's getting murdered?' she asks, Ryder giving his pre-planned answer. She nods, accepting the answer, before bustling over to the windows. Seriously, this boy is hopeless. 'How many times do I have to tell you, Ryder? You need to open your curtains in the morning.'

Ryder watches, annoyed, as she rips open the curtains, before leaving, the door wide open in her wake. Suddenly, they've had all their privacy ripped away from them. Over Ryder's shoulder, Jake can see out the window, can see the next door neighbours through their window. He knows it wouldn't take much for them to glance in and see him and Ryder. Which definitely puts a damper on this afternoon's activities. Just when he thought they were gonna be spending some quality time together.

'So, homework?' he asks.

Xxx

That night, Jake is sitting in the lounge with his mom. Usually, he avoids her at all costs, spending way too much time in his room. But tonight, Game of Thrones is on, and he's not willing to give it up for anything. So they're sitting at opposite ends of the room, watching tv together.

During an ad break, his phone rings. His mom looks over, curious, wondering who would ring him at this hour.

He glances at the screen before answering. 'Hey. What's up?'

'Ja-Jake? I need you.'

'Why, baby? What's the matter?' His mother glances over at the words; how come she didn't know he was in a relationship?

Jake listens as Ryder explains what happened. 'Come over,' he tells him. 'You shouldn't have to stay there. I'll see you soon, ok?'

'What's so important for your friend to be coming around so late?' his mother asks when he hangs up. She's pretty pissed off; this is just another example of how Jake hasn't been respecting her lately.

Jake looks over at her. He really doesn't want an argument right now; he's really not in the mood. But she looks like she expects an answer. 'Ryder's dad is on some homophobic tirade, and he can't deal anymore.'

His mom thinks that over for a second, but it doesn't take long to put two and two together. 'And that's an issue because you two are dating?'

'I – ah, um, yea. How did you know?'

'I can't imagine any other reason for you calling him baby.'

'Oh. Right. Yea.' But she's smiling though, so Jake figures she's ok with it. 'So, is it alright for him to come around?'

'You're actually asking me now?' She's pleased that it manages to come off as teasing, even though she's still feeling a bit annoyed. 'For the record, he's welcome here any time, you don't have to ask.'

'Really?' He can barely believe it.

'Yea, I figure you two don't have anywhere that you can be yourselves. Right?' Jake nods his head. 'I'm sorry that you didn't feel that you could come to me earlier.'

Jake shrugs; he doesn't really know what to make of that. Before he can say anything, there's a knock at the door.

As he's getting up, his mom calls after him. 'We do still need to talk at some stage, Jake. Hopefully without fighting this time.' She's pleased when he smiles his agreement.

Xxx

Ryder is relieved when Jake opens the door. He feels like he's been holding his tears in for too long, but now that Jake's here, he can finally let go. The moment Jake sees the tears flow over he's pulling Ryder inside the door and wrapping him in a tight hug.

'I'm here now, baby. It's ok. I'm here.' The words are whispered into Ryder's ear. Ryder buries his face further into Jake's neck, finally feeling safe.

After several minutes, Jake pulls away slightly, grabbing Ryder's hand and beginning to tug him down the hallway.

'Where are we going?' Ryder asks. He'd have been happy to stand there the whole night if it meant Jake could hold him.

'To snuggle on the couch.'

'We can do that?'

Jake smiles at Ryder's look of confusion, not able to resist pulling him close for a quick kiss. 'Yea, Mom knows about us. Seems weird though, right?'

Ryder just smiles weakly in response, trying to wrap his head around the idea.

'Hey Ryder,' Jake's mom says when they enter the lounge. She immediately notices how anxious and upset he looks. She isn't surprised when he doesn't answer. Instead, Jake just leads him to the couch, pulling Ryder down to curl up against him. Ryder instantly relaxes against Jake, feeling the tension leaving his body.

Jake wraps an arm tightly around Ryder's waist, running the other one through his hair. He hopes it'll bring some sort of comfort. He hopes he can make Ryder feel ok again before he has to go and sneak back home.

Xxx

A few days later, Jake and Ryder are sitting on the couch at Ryder's house. It's not ideal, them coming here after school, but Ryder reckons his mom would get suspicious if they went and changed their habits too quickly.

Jake can't help but feel frustrated by how little they can touch like this. The dining table is off to one side of the couch, so it's not even like they can hide behind the high back of it. At least Ryder's managed to subtly wind his arm around his waist though; the action blocked from his mom by his body.

'Hey Mom,' Ryder calls suddenly, turning his head to look at her.

She looks up, annoyed about the interruption. Then again, the tv show that's playing is annoying enough. 'Yes?'

Ryder can hear that his mom's not happy, but he asks the question anyway. 'Is it ok if I stay at Jake's on Friday night?'

'Are you sure that's not a thinly veiled excuse to go partying?'

'I promise you, it's not,' Jake tells her. He wishes that she liked him more. 'But you can ask my mom if you want. She's already okayed it.'

'Ok, fine,' Mrs Lynn agrees. She's not entirely sure she believes them, but she can always ring Jake's mom later.

'Awesome!' Ryder's relieved; glad for the chance to spend so much uninterrupted time with his boyfriend. Jake's pleased as well. With a whole day of not having to worry about everyone else, he might finally get a chance to say the words that have been stuck in his head for so long now.

_I love you._


End file.
